Still Alive
by Reilie
Summary: Even if he doesn't know a thing about gaming, Neku Sakuraba will go through heaven and hell to meet his idol, CAT. But can the misanthropic teen handle all of the training, annoying game mods, and human interaction? Oh, the things he's willing to do... Gaming AU.
1. GAME START

**Hello and welcome to my newest multi-chaptered fic! This one will hopefully be very interesting for you all to read and for me to write. **

**Enjoy!**

**Warnings: Hmm, I do love me some AUs... oh and an OC**

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_**~I do not own TWEWY~**_

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"_The Wonderful World _is soon to be the hottest virtual reality game around and is produced by none other than Gatito's CAT himself! Enter this world, inspired by major cities like New York, Paris, and Tokyo, and fight alongside your friends against the Reapers! Realism is at a whopping 99%! In stores today! Warnings..." The voice then trailed away at a volume and speed that was impossible to pick up, much less decipher.

Neku grumbled in discomfort as the crowd in front of the store started cheering as the doors opened and the lights flashed on. He stood apart from the group, trying to look as if he was there by coincidence, though he wouldn't have fooled anyone with his limited edition CAT designed headphones and t-shirt. The fact that he was standing in front of this store at 5 A.M. in the morning was a dead giveaway.

"Welcome everybody! Oh, are you here for CAT's new game, too?" Neku silently nodded as he fiddled with the headphones around his neck.

The employee grinned broadly. "Great! Since you're here on the first day, it'll come with the sleeping headset for free. Lucky you, huh?"

His attempts at a conversation were met with an irritated stare and silence and finally, the employee shrugged in defeat. "...I'll go get it for you."

Neku didn't respond as the man walked away, grumbling under his breath.

* * *

He carefully placed the headset on his bed before plopping down and opening the instruction manual. He grinned slightly to himself. Even the manual was designed by CAT and was adorned with rising skyscrapers and the words _The Wonderful World_ in graffiti style text.

He flipped through the booklet, skimming the text and picking out what he needed to know.

"Mom! Can I use Dad's computer?" He shouted, too lazy to get up and ask her.

"What for, honey?" Mrs. Sakuraba asked from her son's doorway. She had been walking by his room when he suddenly shouted.

"I need to make an account for this game," he explained, holding up the booklet and gesturing to the headset.

His mother frowned in return. "Why don't you go out and make some friends instead of playing some video game? I'm honestly thinking that this CAT person is preventing you from properly socializing with kids your age." Neku grit his teeth, but didn't respond. He and his mother had this conversation many times before and he knew how it would end if he provoked her.

She just didn't understand that his idol was the only thing that kept him moving forward whenever he fell into a pit of despair in his short life. They were mother and son, but they were vastly different, with separate thoughts and values.

She would never see things in his perspective.

"Can I use Dad's computer?" He repeated, his face a perfect mask, devoid of emotion.

She frowned at him, her eyes blazing with irritation before melting into a sad, blue hue. "Sure, just don't break it or anything."

"Right," he mumbled and walked to his father's study.

The room was relatively small and was covered in a thin layer of dust. No one had used this room in a while.

Neku cleaned the dust off of the computer and turned it on. As he waited for it to boot up, he doodled in his sketchbook that he had brought along. The page was already littered with human figures and buildings, but was predominately filled with graffiti-like scribbles. He was putting the last touches on a snake that spelled the word "hip" when the computer beeped, reminding him of his original purpose in this room.

He opened the Internet and went to the official Gatito website. CAT's signature Brainy Cat greeted him as he found and clicked on the game's logo on the page.

_Welcome, are you making a standard or a challenger account?_

_'Challenger?'_ Neku wondered and clicked on the ever helpful blue text that read _What is a challenger?_

_A challenger is a special account where the player must defeat all of the major bosses in The Wonderful World. Players will have a time limit of 30 days and if they are to die at any point of the game, they will suffer from an automatic game over. There is a limit of one challenger account per person._

"Why the hell would anyone want to do this?" Neku muttered as he scrolled down.

_Challenger accounts have more privileges than a standard account and grow far more quickly. However, if the player fails the challenge, the account will be immediately terminated._

"Harsh."

_Those who succeed, however, will be allowed to keep their accounts and will win a front row seat to an exclusive CAT art exhibition as well as meet CAT himself.__  
_

Neku stopped, his pencil dropping to the floor with a loud clatter as he reread the last sentence.

_Meet CAT himself._

He quickly returned to the previous page, missing the "Challenger" button multiple times in his haste to click it. He quickly filled out the personal information page and checked the terms and conditions box without a second glance.

Who really read those?

The next page made Neku stop for the second time that day.

It was a survey to determine the player's personality. The player's stats and abilities were decided based on what would suit them the best, leaving it in the people's unsuspecting hands. The questions ranged from simple ones like "What's your favorite time of day?" to odd ones like "If you were shrunk to the size of a raisin..."

Neku had little trouble filling out the first half of the survey- often filling in the "other" option due to many answers being as bizarre as the questions asked- but at the second part, he was slightly unsure. It requested a "friend or close associate" to fill it out about the player.

Neku briefly pondered if it would be worth the trouble of asking his mom to do it and instantly decided against it. It would give her more reasons to force him into making "friends." He filled it out himself, mumbling quietly under his breath.

"Friends... Who needs 'em?"

* * *

Neku grinned excitedly as he laid down for bed. He took deep breaths to calm himself and checked his clock.

It was 9:00 o'clock.

It was a weekend, so his mom wouldn't bother him in the morning about oversleeping, and since he was playing this game, that was almost guaranteed.

He put the on his headset and turned it on. He then closed his eyes and laid back as he waited for sleep to claim him.

* * *

"Welcome to our wonderful world! What's your name, cutie?" A perky voice chirped, forcing Neku to groggily open his eyes. "What the hell..." He muttered, feeling completely disoriented.

"Ooh, a carrot top. Is it natural?"

"Huh? ...Uh, yeah," Neku answered as he slowly rose to his feet. "Who are you?"

The voice belonged to a black haired girl who was wearing an odd blue-green dress that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie. She was also wearing an earpiece with a mic attached to it.

"Me?" She grinned. "I'm Haruka, the GM in charge of your avatar personalization! You can call me Haru-chii if you want," she added with a wink.

"GM? What does that stand for, game master?" Neku asked obliviously, his brows scrunched up in confusion.

Haruka studied him critically and gave a disappointed sigh, "What a noob. It means game moderator, obviously."

He scowled at her. "Whatever, let's just get this over with," he snapped.

"Why is it always the hot ones..." She muttered quietly to herself before turning back to him, a bright smile in place. "Right! Since you're a challenge player, you have more options in terms of your avatar. Do you want to-"

"How I look now is fine," he interrupted, tapping his foot impatiently. He noticed her eye twitch slightly in irritation but she quickly brushed it off. "Riiight... Well, here are the available clothing choices you have. Clothing power ups are decided randomly for a starting player, so pick one you like," she said, waving her arm with a flourish toward the floating clothes that suddenly materialized in front of him.

Some of the clothes were traditional kimonos and yukatas (how the hell could he fight in those?) while others were more modern and looked similar to Haruka's futuristic dress. He carefully looked through all of them before deciding on a simple black and blue themed sleeveless shirt with a turtleneck and a pair of white shorts. They would be comfortable to move in.

"Should I put these on now?" He asked Haruka, holding the clothes up, expecting a changing room to suddenly poof into existence.

"Oh no, I'll do that for you," She chirped, her grin mischievous. "Have fun in the game!"

"What do you-" He broke off as his vision suddenly begin to swim and darken. He must have dropped the clothes as he collapsed on his side, but didn't feel anything- not even pain- as he drifted off into sleep for the second time that night.

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**Exposition, go!**

**Concept and idea is very similar to the manhua _1/2 Prince_, but oh, this will be _nothing _like it. *cue evil laughter***

**Haruka is an old OC of mine. You'll probably never see her again, so you can forget about her. :3**

**Please review! They feed my dying muse... ;w;**


	2. Early Stop

**Uh... long time no see?**

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_**~I don't own TWEWY~**_

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He was so tired. His entire body was heavy, like it was weighed down with lead. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't have been able to twitch a finger, much less move an inch.

"...Like, is he gonna be okay?"

It was a weekend, he could sleep in late. His mom wouldn't mind.

"Don' know. He's been laying there for a while now."

So an extra hour or so wouldn't hurt...

"HEY! ARE YOU LIKE ALIVE?"

Neku jolted back, scrabbling to get away from the loud shout that had nearly burst his eardrums. "Wha-what the hell was that?!"

A dark-skinned blonde stood in front of him with a cheerful smile. She had long hair and attired with a leather jacket and a matching skirt that was covered in dangling chains. Propped on her shoulder was a short sword with a black hilt.

'_Better not get on her bad side,_' Neku decided as he took in his surroundings. He had been laying in the middle of a cobbled street in what seemed to be a small township. The buildings reminded him of a classic European burgh and the sidewalks were teeming with people- many of them giving him odd stares.

"Where am I?"

The brunette laughed. "Starter Village, of course. You're like, a player, right?"

He didn't answer as he gave himself a quick look-over. He was wearing the clothes he had picked along with a matching pair of gloves and shoes. Looking at his gloved hands, he realized that his right hand was glowing a slight red. He had some kind of timer on his hand.

"Oh, so that's what the challenge timer looks like. Pretty cool!" The girl exclaimed. "Hey, Kain! Check it out, he's a challenge player!"

"Kain" looked uncomfortable as he walked over. "Um, cool... Shouldn't we get going? I mean... We need to find some quest items, right?" He asked pointedly as the girl puffed her cheeks in a pout.

"Argh, fine!" She huffed before waving to Neku with a grin. "Good luck, challenger! Hope ya find a partner soon!"

He returned the wave numbly, still in a daze. '_Did she say... partner? What did she mean?_'

As he rose from the ground, he heard a beep from his pocket. It was a phone, blue in color with its screen shining from a recently received message.

_Welcome to **The Wonderful World**! Use this phone to check your profile and stats._

"Alright," he muttered as he clicked on an icon with his face on it.

HP: 100  
Strength: 13  
Defense: 12  
Agility: 12  
Soul: 21  
Charisma: 2  
Rank: Only Human  
Psych: N/A

"That looks good I guess... but why the hell does charisma matter?" He mused quietly as he entered a building. Judging by the sign at front and the exchange of coins and bottles, it was some kind of supply shop.

"Excuse me," Neku called as he approached the counter.

"Yes sir, what can I help you with?" A plump man asked.

"How do I...uh..." The orange head's voice trailed off as he realized that he didn't know exactly _what_ he was doing. "What's a partner?" Might as well start there.

The man's face contorted into a grimace and waved a hand at Neku's face in disgust. "This is a shop, not an info center for noobs. Go on, shoo!"

"Hey, I'm just asking a question!" The teen snapped.

"If you're not going to buy something, then get out!"

"Well-"

"Man, what are you _doing_?"

"Huh?" Neku gasped as he turned away from the counter. A tall, muscular teen stood in front him, and at his side was a petite girl wearing a loose tunic with a pair of shorts. The boy was wearing a brown vest along with a pair of slacks. Around his waist was a belt that carried a small knife. Both had blonde hair that hung loose, brushing their shoulders.

"What he means is, why are you arguing with a NPC?" The girl asked curiously.

"I...uh..." Neku mumbled embarrassed, realizing that the man he had been talking to was actually just a moving mass of data.

_Great job, Neku._

"Don't worry, a lot of us make that mistake," the girl said with a slight giggle. "Beat did."

The muscular teen flushed a bright red before gesticulating wildly, "Rhyme! Why'd ya tell 'em that?!"

"...What did he do?" Neku asked cautiously.

Rhyme began giggling again. "He thought a NPC was hitting on me when they tried to sell me something. They got into a fight and we nearly lost the challenge right then."

"No way, I had 'em yo!" He protested loudly.

"You're doing the challenge?" Neku interrupted before Rhyme could reply.

"Yup! I'm Rhyme and this is my partner, Beat."

"What's a partner?"

They two blondes shared a bewildered look before the the younger's eyes suddenly lit with with understanding.

"You didn't read the manual?"

"I did! I just, uh...skimmed it," Neku muttered defensively.

Beat shook his head. "Nah, man. Even _I_ know to read the manual."  
'_Did this guy just insult himself?_'

"Aight," the muscular teen nodded, his arms crossed. "The book said...hrmmm...um...what did the book say, Rhyme?"

"Partners are fellow players that you team up with so you can fight. Otherwise, you have no power," Rhyme supplied helpfully,. "And challenge players have to find a partner within a time limit or they'll be erased."

Neku paled. "How long is the time limit...?"

"Thirty minutes, but it don't matter if you're a normal player," Beat grinned, oblivious to the orange head's growing panic.

"Shit!" Neku cursed and charged away from the pair. According to the timer on his hand, he only had less than ten minutes left. There was no way he was getting knocked out of this challenge before he even started.

"Oi! Where ya goin'?" Beat shouted after him. "Do ya need help?"

Neku spared him a cold glare before disappearing around the corner of the street. "Leave me alone, I don't need your help!"

"Oh no," Rhyme murmured worriedly. "Did we do something wrong?"

"Nah, Rhyme. The guy's just a jerk," Beat muttered angrily as he glared after the retreating figure.

'_Partnerpartnerpartner- dammit!_' He cursed silently as he stopped to look around. Most of the players were milling around, talking or showing off their newly acquired accessories or weapons. A few of them noticed the panicking orange head, but quickly dismissed him.

Three minutes left.

"Desperate times calls for desperate measures..." He murmured quietly to himself, swallowing his pride. The chance of meeting CAT was on the line.

"HEY! If anyone doesn't have a partner, holler back!" He shouted as loudly as he could, wincing all the while inside. Regardless of how humiliating this was, he needed help, even if it was from the mindless public.

"He looks like a challenger- pretty desperate."

"Must not have much time left."

"Poor guy..."

Neku ignored the pitying whispers from the sea of faces and strained to pick up any sounds of a fellow partner-less player. He couldn't be the only person without a partner, right?

"Does... does anyone not have a partner?" He called again, albeit quieter this time.

Less than a minute left.

Neku slumped down on the sidewalk in defeat. No partner, no game. He was going to lose and he had just barely started.

"You! Partner up with me!"

Neku looked up in surprise, the loud shout jolting him from his depressed stupor. "What?"

She was skinny but tall with bright pink hair and an impatient expression on her face as she held her outstretched hand to the orange head. "I've only got a few minutes. You need a partner, right?" She demanded, waving her hand in his face. "So partner up with me!"

He stared at the hand before his mind finally clicked and took a firm grip on her hand.

"I accept."

She grinned at him as their clasped hands glowed a faint blue and a strange energy flowed between them. "Nice to meetcha, partner. You can call me Matsu."

"Hibiki," he replied shortly, pulling his hand away to see that the timer was now counting down from thirty days. He let out a small sigh of relief.

"Sound and echo... You do seem like the musical kind of guy," she mused aloud.

Neku ignored her in favor of pulling out his phone to figure out what to do next. He needed to beat the bosses, so he needed to... train? You trained in these kind of games, right?

"It's a good thing we met though, or we would both be screwed," she added after a second of thought. "So, what are your stats like?"

'_A place to train..._' Neku thought as he clicked through his phone, looking for a map. '_Maybe on the outskirts of this town, but I don't know how to fight..._'

"Are you listening? Hey, Hibiki!" She frowned, grabbing his arm and his attention.

"What?" He scowled.

"You're really rude you know. I was just asking you about your stats," she snapped back peevishly.

They locked glares, both refusing to back down before Neku tossed his phone at her face.

"Wha-"

"My stats are on my phone," he interrupted. She gave him a suspicious glare before flipping the phone open and clicking through the options.

She hummed slightly as she navigated through the phone until a wide grin suddenly broke out on her face. "Say..."

"W-what?" Neku muttered, unnerved by her Cheshire-like smile.

"You shouldn't just give your phone to anybody," she said before adding after a moment of thought. "_Neku Sakuraba._"

He paled and tried to grab his phone as she laughed and sidestepped him.

"Don't worry, I'm not a stalker or anythin- woah! Your stats are pretty good!" She exclaimed as she backed up to avoid Neku's desperate lunge. "And your defense is better than mine, too!"

"Give me back the damn phone!" He snapped, angrily.

She merely gave an uncaring shrug before tossing the phone back to him. "Sheesh, I was just kidding. I only saw your stats," she grumbled.

Neku narrowed his eyes disbelievingly. "Then how do you know my name?"

She brightened at his question. "So I was right?"

"So you _didn't_ kno-"

"No, just a hunch," she laughed. "You live in that complex near the bus station and Hachiko, right? I hear a lot of rumors about you."

"What kind of rumors?" He asked, slightly hesitant.

"Well..." She paused, thoughtfully tapping her chin before shaking her head. "No, no, we should be getting started."

Neku quirked an eyebrow. "Getting started?" He echoed.

"Learning how to fight and stuff y'know?" She explained. "I don't know about you, but I'm not in this game just for kicks. I'm in it to win it."

"That makes two of us." Neku said before fiddling with with his hair in discomfort. "So, uh... we fight with psychs... right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. There should be store around here where we can figure out our psychs... Ah, there it is!" She cheered and grabbed Neku's wrist, dragging him along with her.

"Hey, let me go!"

"Gotta hurry, we've only got so much time," she responded cheerfully, still dragging him along as he tried to keep up, stumbling and tripping all the while.

"Oh, before I forget, I'm Eri."

"You said your name was Matsu," Neku pointed out.

She shook her head, causing her long hair to hit his face. "Ow! Watch it!"

"Sorry," she apologized. "No, my real name is Eri. It's only fair, right? Since I know your name and all," she explained hurriedly, as she slowed herself to a jog as they approached the store.

"It's not like I actually give a damn," Neku muttered while rubbing his wrist, having finally pulled himself free of her iron grip.

"It's just common courtesy," Eri sighed as she pulled open the store's doors.

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**Sorry for taking so long. This chapter has actually been done for over a month, but I never got around to editing it and posting it. Sorry... orz**

**And we are introduced to Neku's partner, Eri! A rather unlikely duo, but they'll have to bear with it. xD**

**For anyone wondering about the names, they're their usernames. **

**Hibiki- means echo or sound, fitting with Neku's sound motif  
Matsu- Taken from the Japanese fashion designer's name, Eri Matsui. (It was almost _too _perfect)  
Beat and Rhyme are nicknames, so I thought it was fine to leave them like that. :3**

**lolwhoevenreadsmanuals**


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